Untitled
by Goldie Black
Summary: The Dursleys are not Harry Potter's only living relatives.
1. Family and Friends

Patrick smiled as Patty's laughter filled the room. At the moment James' friends Sirius and Remus were attacking her with tickling fingers. "Help!" she managed to get through the laughter. "Wait until I get a wand!"

"That will do you no good, pretty one. Besides the fact that your powers are bound, we're the best wizards. The very best," Sirius countered.

James' friend Sirius was Patty's favorite with his long black hair and bright gray eyes. Every visit she and her parents made to England he would ask her when she was going to become Mrs. Sirius Black.

"Dad! Isn't it time to go yet?"

Patrick and Shana lived with their young daughter in America. Patrick felt this was safest for Shana and Patty. The last of Shana's tribe in _(Nairobi)_ had been killed by The Dark Lord's followers and the village burned to the ground. They were the very tribe of wizards that (the Ministry's Aurors) were based on. They were in England visiting with John, Elizabeth, James and Sirius, who lived with them.

Aunt Elizabeth came to Patty's rescue. "Boys, leave that poor girl alone. She'll lose her voice laughing so much," she managed to say while laughing herself. "Boys, Patty, wash those hands. We'll be eating soon."

"Yes, Mrs. Potter," Remus said as they left the room laughing.

At this point John asked his brother if he'd consider allowing Patty to live with them in England so she could attend Hogwarts.

"Shana and I have talked about that. Even with the way things still are here, I would like for her to attend Hogwarts."

"It's the one place Voldemort can't touch really. If she'd be safe anywhere, it's there, " James added. "But things may be different by the time she's old enough to attend."

"Don't say that name, James."

"Sorry, Mother."

"He's right, Patrick," Shana said to her husband. "We could ask Minnie about letting Patty live with her at the castle and we could meet her here for holiday."

"That's even better," interjected John. "She is her godmother after all. I'm sure she wouldn't object."

The subject was dropped when Patty and the boys entered the room. Shana helped Elizabeth with the dinner preparations as the conversation turned to quidditch and what careers the boys were going to take. Sirius spoke of becoming an auror. James being James had not given this much thought. He had just finished Hogwarts where he was Head Boy and gotten great marks on his N.E.W.T.S. He said he'd wanted to play quidditch professionally. Remus remained awfully quiet.

They all knew the story of Remus being bitten as a young boy and it would be hard for him to make his way in the wizarding world considering the views towards werewolves.

"What about you young Remus?" Patrick asked. "Certainly a wizard of your caliber has something in mind. Why with your marks and knowledge, I'd bet you could be the youngest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Hogwarts has ever seen!"

This put a hint of a smile on Remus' face.

Next day, the boys were nowhere to be found so Patty sat outside in the garden, leaving the grownups to serious conversation. She hoped her aunt and uncle were talking to her parents about unbinding her power. She hadn't meant to burn the television. After lunch, her mother thought she could do with a nice nap and told her that the boys would probably be back when she woke up.


	2. The Dream

She was surrounded. Fire, smoke, dust and flashes of light. Red. Green. Through stinging tears she saw it all. The villagers, screaming and running, were trying to fight the terror that had finally come for them. In the commotion she had lost her wand. Frantically, she felt around for it. Through her tears, she saw them. Just ahead there was a family of three. At least they could have been, a man, his wife, and their baby in his arms. If she could just get them to where she was hiding, they would have a chance of escaping the massacre happening around them. Now!

"No! This way! Hurry! Follow me!" That was all she could get out between gasping for air to the tall man, his wife and their… Where was the baby? "What happened to your baby?" Can they even hear me, she thought. They looked at her with sad eyes. Was that worry? Pity?

They were surrounded. Fire, smoke and flashes of light. She was behind them again. Running. Running for their lives with their wands out, sending their own flashes. The man turned to her. Was he speaking to her? Yes. She was looking up into his face now, but didn't remember… Wasn't she just behind them? She could see sparks of light above his head and felt the woman's hand on her head.

"Don't worry, honey. Mum and Daddy will protect you."

She tried to speak, but all she could do was cry out.

"DAD!"

Salome woke up covered in sweat, gasping for air. It took a moment to register where she was, _who_ she was. She reached over for the glass of water on the nightstand and saw that is was 3:45 in the morning. She watched the clock change to 5:45 and managed to hit the off button before it could make that annoying buzzing noise. She went through her normal morning routine of showering and brushing her teeth, dressing and trying unsuccessfully to do something with her unruly, jet black head of curls. Frizz. She put her hair in a ponytail for the millionth time. Then it was off to work and another day. If ever there was a time Salome wished she was not an only child, it was now. She'd so wanted a brother. She would have even settled for a sister. But it was a brother she really wanted. The closest she had to a brother was her cousin. But he was older and had lived in England. She had lived in America with her parents, where it was assumed they would be safe. Wrong. They found them. They came for them.


	3. The End of the Muggle

"All Grown Up/The End of the Muggle"

"Good afternoon. Bloomsfeld, Brown and Diaz. How may I direct your call?" Salome glanced at the clock. "One moment please."

Half and hour. In just thirty minutes, Salome would be leaving this office for the last time. It had been three years ago when she answered the want ad, worked her charm and gotten the job. It wasn't like she needed it, but it is possible to get bored living off the wealth you inherited from your parents. The partners and staff had given her a nice sendoff with a catered lunch and her favorite, chocolate cake. The job was simple enough. Answer the phones, maintain the files, greet clients, and for the past two weeks, she'd been training Jessica.

"All right, Jessie. Next time the phone rings, it's all-"

"Excuse me, Salome? May I have a word?"

It was Noah Diaz, the youngest of the partners, with a handsome smile on his face.

"Sure." She told Jessie she was in charge, and then followed Noah to his office. When he closed the door, he no longer had a smile on his face. He motioned for her to sit.

"I'll stand, Noah. What is it?"

Noah took a deep breath, and she could see his thoughts. Despite the fact that their relationship was over, he did not want her to leave.

"My mind is made up. I won't forget you. But like I told you before, I am not coming back. I'm not. And if you ever try to come looking for me, you won't find me," she told him matter-of-factly. Salome knew him well, but he couldn't say the same for her. History wouldn't allow her to grow close to anyone. She reached out and touched the left side of his face, and kissed his right cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?" For a moment, they just stared at each other.

"Being a part of it."

"Of what?"

"My life." They shared their final hug, and she left his office. He whispered to himself as the door closed, "I hope you find what you're looking for." Salome smiled to herself, thinking that she would.

"Well, Jessie, I'm going to say goodbye to everyone, and then that's the end of this life for me."


	4. The Letter

"The Letter"

Minerva McGonagall stood bathed in the early morning sunlight at the window in her tartan nightgown. She watched the tawny owl that had just delivered the letter until it became a dot in the sky. In her shaking hand, she held a letter from someone she hadn't heard from in quite some time. _She had hoped._ She adjusted her glasses as she walked away from the window, sat down on the corner of her bed, and began to read.

_Aunt Minnie,  
I know it has been too long. For that, I am sorry. I understand that you were doing only what you thought was best for me. It was wrong of me to be angry. These past years, I have been (brace yourself) working a Muggle job, pretty much living a Muggle life. Don't worry. I haven't given up magic all together. It just saddened me. You understand. But there is a purpose of this letter, and it wasn't to let you know that I have joined in with the Muggles._

I'm heading home. It's time. He's my family.

P.

With apprehension, sorrow, excitement, and worry, Minerva McGonagall clutched the letter to her heart. Five seconds later, she was up and getting dressed, thinking of what she would tell Professor Dumbledore, and wondering how her arrival would affect her cousin (and the task that lay ahead of him). She was so consumed by the situation that she didn't even notice what mischief Peeves was up to as she made her way up the (main) staircase. Finally, the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's rooms stood motionless in front of her. It sprang to life when she uttered, "Chamber pot," moving out of the way.

Professor Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, framed in sunlight from the high window behind him. The headmasters from Hogwarts past sat dozing in their portraits along the walls of the circular room. Professor McGonagall entered the headmaster's office from the spiral staircase.

"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore. Forgive my intrusion at this early hour, but there is something I need to discuss with you," she said to him, and waited.

"Good morning, professor. I am all ears. What seems to be the problem?" He looked at her though his half moon shaped glasses with concern in his blue eyes, waiting for her to answer. She handed him the letter. After a short moment, he spoke.

"I see," he said, placing the letter down on the desk, then folding his hands together under his chin.

"Professor, what am I going to do? Will this upset him? Will it make him happy?"

"There is no stopping her, Minerva. She is probably already here. I think the answer is yes." She looked as if she was going to question him, and he continued, "We will handle this carefully, for both their sakes."

"I want her here with me, in the castle of course. But she will need to keep some distance. Although I am worried what this could mean, I have wanted her here," she said as her eyes started to water. "I have missed her. I don't think this is what Patrick had in mind when he told me they wanted me to be her godmother."

Dumbledore sat still, he hands still folded together under his chin.


	5. The Decision and Diagon Alley

"The Decision and Diagon Alley"

That very day, Professor McGonagall wrote a letter to her goddaughter whom she hadn't seen in a number of years. In fact, it had been ten year since she had made her way across the ocean when Salome had finished her wizarding education at Salem Witches Institute. Before that, she had wanted to return to England after she was done there, but had since decided to stay, and even ended up going to a Muggle university. She felt a bit of excitement as she wrote:

_My dear,_

I know you were not expecting a letter from me. And you shouldn't be surprised that I knew to send this letter to you at the Leaky Cauldron! I have sent you a ticket. You are to come on the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross Station. But it is my wish that you do not tell anyone who you are. That is an absolute condition. We will talk when you get here. There is much to discuss.

Aunt Minnie

Salome had smiled when the owl delivered the letter to her at the Leaky Cauldron, as she had been there in room eleven for the past three days. She arrived at Heathrow, her suitcase, a backpack, and massive trunk that had belonged to her father. Since she was done living the Muggle life, she headed straight for the Leaky Cauldron. No she hadn't been to London in nearly twenty years, and had only been at the inn once, but she was sure she'd find it. However, she walked past it three times before noticing the door between the bookstore and record store. Salome stopped just inside the door, taking in the sight of witches and wizards in cloaks, pots of tea in midair, and soaked in the atmosphere. A few of them looked at her as if she might be lost. Salome heaved her trunk and suitcase to the bar.

"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron. I'm Tom. What'll it be? I just finished a batch of pea soup. Nice n' hot," the wizard behind the bar said with a not-so-toothy smile."

"I guess I'll try that then, and a butterbeer, and cauldron cake."

"Coming right up." He stepped out of sight, and returned with a steaming bowl of green goo, sitting on the counter in front of her. He reached down and brought up a bottle of butterbeer and a cauldron cake. "Will there be anything else?"

"Are there any rooms available?" She asked, although she already knew the answer. She could tell he was dying to ask her probably what everyone else in the inn was thinking.

"Yes I do, as a matter of fact. I'll have one set up for you, take your things up." He paused. "Are you a muggle-born witch?"

"A muggle-born? No. I'm pure-blood. I'm sorry. You told me you were Tom and I didn't tell you who I was. I'm Salome. Salome John."

"John? And you're a pure-blood you say?" He gave her the not-so-toothy smile again and proceeded to take her things to a room. After one bite, Salome decided not to touch the pea soup but concentrated on the butterbeer and cauldron cake, thinking she maybe should have stopped at the burger restaurant down the street.

Her first order of business was to exchange most of her Muggle money (she'd left half in one of their banks) to Wizard money and add it to the vault at Gringott's, a vault that hadn't been opened in many years.


	6. The Hogwarts Express

"The Hogwarts Express"

Salome John made her way to Kings Cross Station for the train that would be leaving precisely at eleven o'clock. She was very excited to finally make her long overdue journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even though they had lived in the United States, her parents had been talking about sending her back to England just to attend the school. Unfortunately, it was not to be. But here she was, looking for Platform 9 3/4, excited to see the train, and excited to catch a glimpse of her young cousin.


End file.
